Last month I devoted the month to (a start to) getting back into shape. Despite the fact that I'm already back to pre-pregnancy weight, I have a bit of a body-image problem in that I don't fit my pre-pregnancy clothes and there is the post-baby gut that keeps hanging around. Don't get me wrong - it took 9 months to grow a baby inside me and so I don't expect to be back to my old form for a little while yet! But I also can't use that as an excuse to be lazy. So from the beginning of April I got myself motivated to get the heart pumping again.
I'm going to a cardio-poussette class twice a week. This is one of many classes offered by Cardio Plein-Air, a company that dedicates workouts to the outdoors yearround! I'm the only one with 2 babies to push in my classes, but with my stroller they're a breeze to push so I don't mind the extra weight. In fact, this stroller is so easy to move that it kind of runs on its own with a little wind - and unfortunately there are no brakes on it, so I can't lock it in place when it's stationary. The workout is led by Geneviève, a firecracker of an instructor who is always chatting, yelling, smiling, and keeping everyone motivated. I took her classes 2 years ago when Kira was born and I had such a great experience that I signed up for her classes again. She remembered us right away, and always gives a little conversation time to Kira. I'm also really impressed that she tries so hard to ensure that I'm comfortable by speaking to me in English, even though I try my best to keep up in French! Here's a photo of Geneviève, who reminds me a LOT of Julianne from "Dancing with the Stars" for her personality and athleticism.
What I love about this workout is that you can get from it as much as you want. Seriously, I've seen people push their strollers and chat to each other. Actually, this season's group is great. Everyone is friendly and there's pleasant chatting but people are also looking for a serious workout. Great spirit and energy - gotta love that! I'm in it for the WORKOUT! So, with the mindset to challenge myself, I'm getting a great workout in a beautiful park (Récré-O-Parc in Ste. Catherine) with a group of fantastic moms and their beautiful babies. We do about an hour of heart-pumping cardio, followed by abdominal training on the mats, and always something different or new with resistance bands, or using the benches and fences found at the park. Kira usually hops out of the stroller at this point, to stretch her legs and check out the scenery. Calvin usually wakes up at this point and starts bawling his head off along with half of the other babies. The workout ends with simili-tai-chi, and before you know it 75 minutes have passed. Now that the weather is getting nicer out, I think I'll opt to hang out at the park afterwards every so often, for a picnic!
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